II.
In bed at morrow, fleeping as I lay,
Methought Aurora with her ruby ene,
In at my window looked by the day,
And halfit me, with visage pale and green;
Upon her hand a lark fang frae the spleen,
Lovers, awake out of your flumbering.
"See how the lufty morning does upfpring."
Methought fresh May before my bed upstood,
In weed depainted of ilk diverse hue,
Sober, benign, and full of manfuetude,
In bright attire of flowers, all forged new,
Of heavenly colour, white, red, brown and blue,
Balmit in dew, and gilt with Phebus' beams,
While all the houfe illumin'd with her leams.
IV.
Sluggard, fhe faid, awake anon for fhame,
And in mine honour fomething thou go write;
The lark has done, the merry day proclaim,
Lovers to raise with comfort and delight;
Will nought increafe thy courage to indite,
Whofe heart fometime has glad and blissful been,
Songs oft to make, under the branches green ?
V.
Whereto, quoth I, fhall I uprife at morrow,
For in thy month few birds have I heard fing,
They have more caufe to weep and plain their
forrow:
Thy air it is not wholfome nor benign,
Lord Eolus does in thy feafon ring,
So boufteous are the blafts of his fhrill horn,
Among thy boughs to walk I have forborn.
VI.
With that the lady foberly did fmile,
And faid, uprife and do thy obfervance:
Thou did promife in May's lufty while,
Then to describe the ROSE of most pleasance.
Go fee the birdis how they fing and dance,
And how the skies illumined are bright,
Enamell'd richly with new azure light.
When this was faid, away then went the Queen,
And enter'd in a lufty garden gent;
And then methought, full hastily befeen,
In fark and mantle after her I went
Into this garth most dulce and redolent,
Of herb and flow'r, and tender plants most sweet,
And the green leaves doing of dew down fleit.
VIII.
The purple fun, with tender rayis red,
In orient bright as Angel did appear,
Thro' golden fkies advancing up his head,
Whofe gilded treffes fhone fo wondrous clear,
That all the world took comfort far and near,
To look upon his fresh and blissful face,
Doing all fable frae the Heavens chace.
And as the blissful fun drove up the sky,
All nature fang thro' comfort of the light,
The minstrels wing'd, with open voices cry,
"O Lovers now is fled the dully night,
"Come welcome day, that comforts ev'ry wight;
"Hail May! hail Flora! hail Aurora sheen,
"Hail Princefs Nature! hail love's hartfome Queen!
X.
Dame Nature gave an inhibition there,
To Neptune fierce, and Eolus the bold,
Not to perturb the water or the air,
That neither blashy shower, nor blasts more cold
Should flow'rs affray nor fowls upon the fold.
She bade eke Juno, Goddefs of the sky,
That she the heav'n fhould keep amene and dry.
XI:
Alfo ordain'd that every bird and beast
Before her Highness should anon compear;
And every flow'r of virtue moft and least,
herb of fair field far and near,
As they had wont in May from year to year;
To her their Queen to make obedience,
Full low inclining with due reverence.
With that anon fhe fent the swift foot Roe,
To bring in alkind beast from dale and down;
The restless swallow order'd she to go,
And fetch all fowl of great and small renown,
And to gar flow'rs appear of all faffoun:
Full craftily conjured fhe the Yarrow,
Which did forth fwirk as swift as any arrow.
XIII.
All brought in were in twinkling of an eye,
Both beast and bird and flow'r before the Queen;
And firft the Lion, greatest of degree,
Was fummon'd there; and he, fair to be seen,
With a full hardy countenance and keen,
Before Dame Nature came, and did incline,
With visage bold, and courage leonine.
XIV.
This awful beaft was terrible of chear,
Piercing of look, and ftout of countenance,
Right ftrong of corps, of fashion fair, but fear,
Lufty of shape, light of deliverance,
Red of his colour, as the ruby glance:
In field of gold he ftood full rampantly,
With flow'r-de-lyces circled pleasantly.
XV.
This Lady lifted up his claws fo clear,
And lute him liftly lean upon her knee,
And crowned him with diadem full deer,
Of radious stones most royal there to see,
Saying the King of all beafts make I thee;
And the protector chief in woods and shaws,
Go forth, and to thy lieges keep the laws.
Juftice exerce, with mercy and confcience,
And let no fmall beaft fuffer fkaith or fcorns
Of greater beafts, that been of more puiffance;
Do law alike to Apes and Unicorns,
And let no Bugle with his boufteous horns
Opprefs the meek plough Ox, for all his pride,
But in the yoke go quietly him befide.
When this was faid, with noife and found of joy,
All kind of Quadrupeds in their degree,
At once cry'd LAUD, and then VIVE LE ROY;
Then at his feet fell with humility;
To him they all paid homage and fealty;
And he did them receive with princely laits,
Whose noble ire his greatness mitigates.
Then crowned she the Eagle King of fowls
And sharp as darts of steel she made his pens,
And bade him be as juft to Whawps and Owls,
As unto Peacocks, Papingoes, or Cranes,
And make one Law for Wicht Fowls and for Wrens, And let no fowl of rapine do affray,
Nor birds devour, but his own proper prey.
Then called she all flow'rs grew in the field,
Defcribing all their fashions and effeirs,
Upon the awful THISTLE fhe beheld,
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